Utilizing an expansive force in forcing or raising liquid.



H. A. HUMPHREY.

UTILIZING ANIEXPANSIVE FORCE IN FORCING 0R RAISING LIQUID.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10.1912.

1,22%,644@ Patented May 1, 1917.

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WITNESSES: lAlVE/VTOH BYJIWM ATTORNEY.

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HERBERT ALFRED I-IUMPHREY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO HUMPHREY GAS PUMP COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 191?.

Application filed April 10, 1912. Serial No. 689,920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT ALFRED HUMPHREY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing in London, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Utilizing an Expansive Force in Forcing or Raising Liquid, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the art of utilizing an expansive force, in which liquid is moved by the expansive force of an ignited compressed combustible charge.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate merely by way of example, suitable means or mechanism for effecting my invention,

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the combustion chamber end of a pump showing my improvement.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing further modifications.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the combustion chamber end of apparatus, showing dash-pot control of piston and other modifications.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing further modifications of the dash-pot control.

Fig. 5 is a similar View showing modifications including means for introducing combustible mixture.

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing further modifications.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Fig. 1 shows a 4-stroke cycle pump in which 1 is a solid piston adapted to be actuated by a primary medium having a sliding fit in cylinder 2 in which it is shown at its highest position near the top cover 3 of the cylinder. Fitted in the cover is an exhaust valve 4 and an admission valve 5 for mixture. In the walls of the cylinder at a lower level are valves 6 for the admission of scavenging air. The supply of'liquid to be raised or forced enters through the nonreturn valves 7 normally held closed by light springs. 8 is the play-pipe in which the column of liquid reciprocates, a short portion only of which is shown. The pump is of the kind suitable for raising water from a considerable depth, as for instance from a well. The suction pipe 9 communicates between the well and an air vessel 10 in the immediate vicinity of the valve 7.

' valve 5 shut.

This vessel permits of a more continuous flow through the pipe 9 as compared with the intermittent flow through the valves 7 and thus permits of the maximum possible lift on the suction side. When the piston 1 descends to its lowest level it comes in contact with a spring buffer or stop in this case shown as consisting of three resilient rings 11 separated by small angle-iron rings to maintain them in posltion.

Rigidly attached to the piston 1 is a tube 12 on the partially closed lower end of which rests a buffer spring 13. The rod 14 extends through a gland in the cylinder cover 3 and is moved downward by the piston 1 engaging with the spring 15 just before the piston completes its downward stroke. The rod 14 is moved upward during the upward motion of the piston when the latter has completed a certain portion of its upward motion owing to spring 13 engaging with collar 16 on rod 14. Rigidly attached to the upper part of rod 14 is a cone 17, which cone through the bell crank 18 and rod 19 controls the operation of valves 4 and 5 respectively in the following manner:When the rod 14 moves downward to its lowest position bell crank 18 is forced in the direction which opens valve 4 and rod 19 is moved to the right thus locking When rod 14 is moved upward reverse operations take place, valve 4 closing and valve 5 becoming unlocked and free to open under difference of pressure. On the stems of valves 4 and 5. are shown springs which tend to keep the valves shut. On the stems of valves 6 are provided body 21. The pivoted levers '22, controlled by spring 20, for engaging either side of body 21 are devices, which will be readily understood from the drawing, and which tend to keep these valves in either an open or closed position. The tension of springs 20 can be adjusted to vary the force required to open or close the valves. The cycle of operations may be described as follows :-Assuming a compressed combustible charge to exist between the piston 1 and the cylinder cover 3, the piston 1 then being in a somewhat lower position than that shown on the drawing, all the valves being closed and liquid filling the rest of the apparatus below the piston, ignition now occurs causing the first outward stroke of the liquid from the combustion chamber.

Both the piston 1 and the liquid move together until the former is arrested by the rings 11 at which time the liquid is moving with considerable velocity. The momentum of the outwardly propelled liquid causes a diminution of pressure below the piston which gives rise to the inflow of fresh liquid through the valves 7 to follow the moving liquid in pipe 8. The opening of valve 4 occurs before expansion has been carried to atmospheric pressure and the rush of exhaust gases through a long exhaust pipe may be utilized to cause a partial vacuum in the cylinder which draws in through valves 6 scavenging air, these valves having been uncovered by the piston in its downward movement and opening under the vacuum produced.

Fig 2 is a vertical section illustrating a device in which the means illustrated in Fig. 1 and described in connection with said Fig. 1 are combined, and coijperate with the means illustrated in Fig. 5, and described in connection with said figure.

In Fig. 3 piston l is connected by a rod to a piston 44 sliding in a tube 45 closed at both ends and slotted in the middle as shown. As the pistons 1 and 44 reciprocate the latter will compress an elastic cushion alternately above and below it. On the downward movement of piston 1 when the bottom of piston 44 passes the bottom of the slots in 45 its continued movement, while compressing the cushion in the bottom of 45, may force either elastic fluid or liquid through the pipes 46 to act on small pistons in turn acting on collars fixed to the stems of exhaust valves 4 to close these valves. Four small cocks 69, 69 and 70, are shown, and it will be obvious that by opening the ones marked 69, 69, which are situated at a higher level, elastic fluid will be conveyed through pipe 46, while by opening the lower of the two cocks marked 70, 70, and closing the two marked 69, 69, liquid will be conveyed through pipe 46. The cushion in the bottom of 45 will, in conjunction with the cushion in cylinder 2, assist in arresting the downward movement of the piston 1, and in some cases the whole of the energy for arresting such movement may be stored in the cushion in the bottom of 45. In such case a greater degree of freedom in selecting the position of valves 4 is permissible. On the outward movement of pistons 1 and 44 a cushion is compressed in the top of 45 thus limiting the upward motion and permitting liquid to be drawn through valve 7 from a greater depth than would otherwise be possible. The expansion of the last mentioned cushion may cause a downward movement of the piston to' give a partial exhaust of burnt products or elastic fluid before the column of liquid returns.

In Fig. 4 the rod which attaches piston 44 to piston 1 instead of being carried through a gland in the cylinder passes upward from the piston through liquid into the closed tube 45 wherein the piston 44 reciprocates. The arrangement is similar to that last described and the pressure of the elastic cushions compressed in the top and bottom of the tube 45 respectively may be utilized for both opening and closing the exhaust valves. If tube 45 is made continuous so that different pressures are maintained in its ends, pipes 47, 48 are provided with extension 71 and 72, as shown controllable by cocks sothat they may be attached to sources of supply of elastic fluid under pressure, whereby the working pressures of cushions in the top and bottom of 45 may be varied at will.

In Fig. 5 the solid piston 1 operates a pump piston 49 to which it is attached by a rod extending through a gland in the cover of cylinder 2. In the cylinder 50 in which piston 49 reciprocates there is an inlet valve 51 for air and an admission valve 52 for gas, these being the constituents for the combustible mixture. A pipe 53 connects cylinder 50 to cylinder 2 through the admission valve 5. In the lower part of cylinder 50 there is an inlet port 54 controlled by the piston 49 and communicating with this is a scavenging air admission valve 55, and in communication with the connecting pipe is a reservoir 56, preferably of the gas bag type as shown. The apparatus works on the 2-stroke cycle as follows :In the position of the parts shown the piston 1 is being arrested at the end of the expansion stroke by compression of an elastic cushion below piston 49 while fresh liquid is entering through valves 7 Into the top of cylinder 50 there has been drawn through valves 51, 52, combustible mixture during the downward movement of piston 49. Also during the downward movement scavenging air which existed below the piston 49 has been discharged first into reservoir 56 and then through valve 6 when the degree of expansion in cylinder 2 permits the valve 6 to open until port 54 is closed by piston 49. The scavenging air may continue to flow from the reservoir 56 after the port 54 has been closed. The expansion of the cushion below piston 49 may cause a partial upward movement of the piston 1 before the main column of liquid returns, but the'remaining portion of the upward movement is due to the returning column of liquid. In this upward stroke the combustible mixture in cylinder 50 is transferred through pipe 53 and valve 5 into the cylinder 2 in which there already exists scavenging air. Until the exhaust valve 4 is closed the combustible mixture entering cylinder 2 will merely displace scavenging air or some burnt products if there are any left, but when valve 41 is closed the further movement of pistons 1 and 49 causes compression of the combustible charge contained in cylinder 2. It is intended that piston 19 shall toward its upper limit cut off communication between pipe 53 and cylinder 50, so as to insure that valve 5 shall close before the last stage of compression in cylinder 2. This last movement may also compress a cushion in the top of cylinder 50. Ignition now ?-occurs to start a fresh cycle. In order that the volume of combustible mixture admitted to cylinder 2 may be a definite but adjustable amount there is shown a valve 57 which is adapted to be closed after any desired upward movement of the piston 4C9 has occurred. One simple means of attaining this result is by allowing an additional rod 58 attached to piston 19 to reciprocate in a small cylinder 59 from the top of which elastic fluid is conducted through a pipe 60 to act on a spring loaded piston attached to the stem of the valve 57. In the pipe 60 is a valve 61 which when fully opened allows the elastic fluid compressed in the top of piston 59 to close valve 57 after a certain upward movement of the rod 58. As the valve 61 is gradually closed the closing of valve 57 will be delayed and a greater movement of the piston 49 will have occurred before valve 57 shuts. The degree of opening of valve 61 may be controlled by the pressure of the liquid delivered from the pump or by the height to which liquid is delivered, or in any other suitable manner which enables the amount of combustible charge ignited at each cycle to be varied according to the work to be done. This arrangement also enables a given amount of energy in the returning column of liquid to compress a combustible charge variable in quantity to approximately the same compression pressure.

Fig. 6 differs from the arrangement of Fig. 5 in the fact that the liquid is above piston 1 instead of below it, and that instead of one pump chamber for pumping scavenging air and combustible mixture there are two such chambers so that mixed constituents shall not be subjected to high pressures except in cylinder 2. Thus, piston 1 is connected by two rods with the pistons 62, 63, which work in the pump cylinders 64, 65. Cylinders 64 and 65 are fitted with admission valves for the respective constituents of the combustible mixture and when these constituents are discharged they mix in a passage 66 before passing through the non-return valves 5 into cylinder 2. The scavenging air is taken in and discharged. from the top side of the pistons 62, 63, and enters the cylinder 2 through the valves 6. As the cycle of operations is similar to that described in Fig. 5 there is no need to exit is obvious that where solid pistons sep- H arate the liquid from the combustion gases a horizontal or inclined position is permissible for the combustion chamber. here dash-pots have been shown to arrest the motion of the solid pistons they have generally been shown as operating with elastic fluids, but they may in some cases operate advantageously with liquids especially in those cases where it is not desired to store energy for giving an independent return motion to the piston apart from that given by the returning column of liquid.

The term solid, as defining the piston in the claims, is only meant to differentiate the same from a liquid piston, but not in any other way to define its conformation.

What I claim is 1. The combination of a power chamber for a primary medium having inlet and discharge valves, a play pipe connected therewith, for the free reciprocation of a liquid column capable of acquiring useful momentum, a solid piston operating between the liquid column and the primary medium to actuate and to be actuated by the liquid column, a piston rod connected to the piston and a valve gear operated thereby.

2. A play pipe for the free reciprocation of liquid column of sufficient bulk and path of travel to enable it to acquire useful momentum, an expansion chamber connected therewith, a, piston operating in the expansion chamber and adapted to reciprocate with the liquid column to actuate the same and to be actuated thereby, inlet and exhaust valves connected with the expansion chamber and means actuated by the piston' for controlling same.

3. A play pipe for the free reciprocation of liquid column of sufficient bulk and path of travel to enable it to acquire useful momentum, an expansion chamber connected therewith, a piston operating in the expansion chamber and adapted to reciprocate with the liquid column to actuate the same and to be actuated thereby, inlet and exhaust valves connected with the expansion chamber and means controlled by the piston for actuating same.

4. A play pipe for the free reciprocation of liquid of sufficient bulk and path of travel to enable it to acquire useful momentum, an expansion chamber connected therewith, a piston operating therein actuated by an expansible charge in one direction to actuate the liquid and actuated by the liquid in the opposite direction, and means, operated by the piston for charging the expansion chamber with a primary medium.

5. A play pipe for the free reciprocation of a liquid column of suflicient bulk and path of travel to enable it to acquire useful momentum, a power chamber connected therewith, a rigid piston operating therein between an expansible charge and the liquid, and an air intake port in the cylinder adapted to be over-run by the piston in its reciprocating movement.

6. The combination of a power chamber for a primary medium having inlet and discharge valves, a play pipe connected therewith for the free reciprocation of a liquid column capable of acquiring useful momentum, a solid piston operating between the liquid and the primary medium, to actuate and to be actuated by the liquid column, and means operated by the piston for controlling the valve actuation.-

7. The combination of a power chamber for a primary medium having inlet and discharge valves, a play pipe connected there- With for the free reciprocation of a liquid column capable of acquiring useful momentum, a solid piston operating between the liquid and the primary medium, to actuate and to be actuated by the liquid column, and means connected to the piston for actuating the valves.

HERBERT ALFRED HUMPHREY.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH MILLARD, E. C. WALKER.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0 

